Rumour could be official policy of a state, by choice. What this means is that you listen to the grapevine if you wanted to know the budget of the state, what government has in mind, when the remaining commissioners may be appointed, will there be Economic and Investment Summit in 2026, is the governor signing certificate of occupancy (C/O) any time soon, etc.
The best centre of rumour hub is social media, often on fb. So, citizens flock there every hour to get some gist of their own state. Yes, the office of the Chief Press Secretary, the third in three years, sends out government statements on project visits, but that is less than 10% of the soul of Rivers State. There are no townhalls, no interactive sessions with stakeholders or the media or civil society. Nobody interviews the governor, and nobody visits the Brick House.
Despite this lacuna, most traders, touts, and beer parlour patrons ‘know’ everything happening or will happen in the state; They know what Nyesom Wike has just said against Fubara, and the one Fubara will say next. They ‘know’ how much the govt gets monthly and who has what share. The rumour mill, the biggest mill.
So, a journalist like me would use Google or ChatGPT to find out what is happening next door. OK Chinda is the biggest news in town any day in Rivers State of this era. Newsmen would want to know what does or says per day. So, today, I asked: Who is Minority Leader of the Federal House of Representatives as at May 30, 2026. The answer popped up, naming Kingsley Chinda. They described him as a member of the PDP and representative of the Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency in Rivers State. The response did not fail to say there is a controversy on this position.
